Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
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Rewards
Unlimited 2X miles on all eligible purchases, and 5 Miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals and 10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booked via Capital One Travel portal
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Welcome bonus
Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
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Regular APR
19.99% – 29.99% variable APR
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Balance transfer fee
$0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
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Foreign transaction fees
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Credit needed
Pros
- Large welcome bonus
- No foreign transaction fees
- Up to $100 statement credits for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network
Cons
- High annual fee
- No introductory 0% APR period
The Platinum Card® from American Express
On the American Express secure site
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Rewards
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, 1X points on all other eligible purchases
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Welcome bonus
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fee
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit Needed
Pros
- Up to $200 in annual airline fee credits
- $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. Terms Apply.
- $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card®. (The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay. Certain room categories are not eligible for upgrade)
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. (Enrollment required)
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month. (Enrollment is required for select benefits mentioned)
Cons
- $695 annual fee
- No special financing offers on new purchases
Capital One Venture X vs. American Express Platinum
Annual fee
Welcome bonus
With the Amex Platinum Card, you can earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership. With Amex Membership Rewards points, you have many redemption options including using this bonus to book $800 in airfare (through American Express Travel) and unlock even more value with Amex’s travel partners.
The Capital One Venture X has a welcome bonus of 75,000 miles after you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. You can use these miles to cover $750 in travel purchases or transfer the miles to a partner travel loyalty program to book premium cabin flights.
Winner: Amex Platinum. It has a slightly more valuable intro offer that requires twice the amount of spending. However, you have double the amount of time to meet the minimum spending requirement, so the average amount you need to spend per month is the same.
Rewards
Capital One Venture X vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express rewards
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | The Platinum Card from American Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel | 10X miles | N/A |
| Flights booked through Capital One Travel | 5X miles | N/A |
| Flights booked directly with airlines or Amextravel.com | N/A | 5X points, on up to $500,000 per calendar year |
| Prepaid hotels booked on Amextravel.com | N/A | 5X points |
| Other eligible prepaid travel booked on Amextravel.com | N/A | 2X points |
| All other purchases | 2X miles | 1X points |
Redemption options
The Amex Platinum earns American Express Membership Rewards® points, which you can redeem in various ways. The easiest ways to use Membership Rewards points include redeeming them for gift cards, statement credits, merchandise or booking travel through Amex Travel. The value of these redemptions is usually 0.5 to one cent per point.
To potentially get much greater value, you can also transfer Amex points to these 21 partner travel programs at a 1:1 ratio unless noted:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Aeromexico Rewards (1:1.6)
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- ANA Mileage Club
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Cathay
- Delta SkyMiles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue (5:4)
- Singapore KrisFlyer
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Choice Privileges
- Hilton Honors (1:2)
- Marriott Bonvoy
The Capital One Venture X earns Capital One miles, which provide redemption options similar to Amex points. You can redeem Capital One miles for cash back, gift cards and recent travel purchases. You can also use Capital One miles to pay for travel you book through Capital One Travel. These redemptions usually get you 0.5 to one cent per mile in value.
You have the option to transfer Capital One miles to 18 travel loyalty programs (1:1 transfer ratio unless noted):
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Accor Live Limitless (2:1)
- Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Cathay
- Choice Privileges
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air Infinity MileageLands (2:1.5)
- Finnair Plus
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- TAP Air Portugal Miles & Go
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Red
- Wyndham Rewards
Transferring the rewards you earn with either of these cards is typically the best way to maximize your value. Both of these loyalty programs feature an extensive list of travel partners you can use to book award flights with any of the three major airline alliances.
Winner: Tie. Both cards offer similar ways to redeem rewards and have plenty of useful partner travel programs.
Benefits
With a premium rewards card, you should expect to get access to a long list of benefits that provide more value than what you pay to keep the card. The Amex Platinum has no shortage of perks that run the gamut from travel and shopping credits to access to one of the best global airport lounge networks.
Amex Platinum cardholders receive a variety of elite status perks, including Gold status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy (enrollment required; terms apply). You can also enroll to take advantage of car rental privileges with Avis, Hertz and National (terms apply). The card has a robust suite of shopping and travel protections*, to go along with airport lounge access (enrollment required) that includes visits to Delta Sky Clubs and American Express Centurion Lounges.
You can also earn over $1,500 in statement credits every year, including:
- Up to $200 back in hotel statement credits on select prepaid bookings (Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay, Certain room categories are not eligible for upgrade.)
- Up to $200 annual airline fee credit per calendar year
- Up to $300 per calendar year in Equinox credit (enrollment required)
- Up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit (up to $50 back semi-annually; enrollment required)
- Up to $189 credit to enroll in CLEAR® Plus (subject to auto-renewal; excluding any applicable taxes and fees)
- Up to $240 annual digital entertainment credit (up to $20 per month; enrollment required)
- Up to $155 annual Walmart+ credit (up to $12.95 per month plus applicable taxes on one membership fee. Plus Ups are not eligible. Subject to auto renewal)
- Up to $200 in Uber cash annually ($15 per month, $20 in Dec.; Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only)
- $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry or up to $85 every 4.5 years for TSAPreCheck
Capital One Venture X cardholders receive access to Capital One airport lounges and can enroll to receive access to more than 1,400 Priority Pass and Plaza Premium lounges. You can even add up to four authorized users for free and each of those cardholders can enroll to get their own Priority Pass membership.
It also has top-tier travel and purchase protections, as well as Hertz President’s Circle Status (enrollment required) and Visa Infinite rental car privileges with Hertz, Avis and National. When you use the card to pay for your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application, you’ll receive a fee credit of up to $100 (once every four years).
Every year, you’ll receive up to $300 in travel credits for eligible Capital One Travel bookings. In addition, on every card anniversary, you’ll receive 10,000 bonus miles.
* Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
Winner: Amex Platinum. Although the Venture X has more than enough perks to justify its annual fee, the Amex Platinum has a stronger suite of benefits.
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Which should you get?
For anyone who wants premium perks and will take full advantage of the benefits these cards offer, either the Capital One Venture X or the American Express Platinum can make sense. Ultimately, it boils down to what perks you value the most and how much you’re willing to pay each year to get those benefits.
The Amex Platinum has a bigger upfront cost and although it offers a more lucrative array of benefits, those benefits can be complicated to redeem for full value. Many of its statement credits only apply to a specific brand or brands and others are earned in monthly or semi-annual increments.
The Capital One Venture X is affordable (for a high-end card) and you can fully offset the fee by taking advantage of two straightforward benefits. Every year you keep the card, you’ll get a 10,000-mile bonus worth at least $100 in travel. You’ll also get an annual $300 Capital One Travel credit that applies to any travel you book through Capital One Travel.
Capital One Venture X vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express overview
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | The Platinum Card from American Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit score requirements | Excellent | Good to excellent |
| Annual fee | $395 | $695 (see rates and fees**) |
| Rewards | 5X miles on flights and 10X miles on hotels and rental cars when booked via Capital One Travel portal; 2X miles on all other purchases | Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, 2X points on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel booked through Amextravel.com (enrollment required) and 1X points on all other eligible purchases |
| Intro APR | None | N/A |
| Standout benefits | Travel credits, airport lounge access, anniversary bonus, trusted traveler program credits | Travel credits, Uber credits, shopping credits, airport lounge access, trusted traveler program credits |
FAQs
Is it hard to qualify for the Capital One Venture X?
The Capital One Venture X typically requires a very good to excellent credit score (FICO scores 740 and greater), so it’s more difficult to qualify for than many cards.
How does credit card airport lounge access work?
The airport lounge access you can get from certain credit cards is usually provided with a complimentary Priority Pass membership. Once you enroll, you’ll have access to this membership as long as you are a card member.
How much are American Express points worth compared to Capital One miles?
American Express Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles can be redeemed in similar ways. Both programs allow you to transfer your points to a variety of airline and hotel partners or book travel through the bank’s travel portal at a fixed rate of 1 cent per point. As such, Amex points and Capital One miles are worth about the same.
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**For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
